I See All These Amazing Programs for Children

April 14, 2016January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

TPGA is observing Autism Acceptance Month by featuring accounts from autistic people about the differences accommodations (or lack thereof) make in their lives. Today’s story is from Mel Baggs, about the assumption that all kids should be able to work and play in groups — and that kids who can’t cope with group scenarios are just being difficult. Mel Baggs I see all these amazing programs for children Like really, really cool stuff, stuff that looks fun and educational at the same time, stuff that looks far more educational and far more rewarding than the school system, etc. I see them in documentaries, in videos online, in articles, etc. But then I’m always stopped short by something. Photo © Norton Gusky. Creative Commons License. [image: Schoolchildren of various races talking while gathered around a table.] Unless something fundamental changed about children between then and now. And in how children are…

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Disability

For Colin, on His Viral Eleventh Birthday

February 14, 2014January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com By now you’ve probably heard of the Happy Birthday Colin effort, in which a socially isolated (though not autistic) boy’s mom created a Facebook page to cheer him up for his eleventh birthday — and the page went viral, with nearly 2 million Likes as of this writing. Colin’s mom writes: “I am Colin’s mom, I created this page for my amazing, wonderful, challenging son who is about to turn 11 on March 9th. Because of Colin’s disabilities, social skills are not easy for him, and he often acts out in school, and the other kids don’t like him. So when I asked him if he wanted a party for his birthday, he said there wasn’t a point because he has no friends. He eats lunch alone in the office everyday because no one will let him sit with them, and rather than force someone…

Disability

Autism and the Circle of Friends

March 16, 2012January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Emily Willingham biologyfiles.fieldofscience.com We began by failing our son, TH. We failed to be vigilant enough about his reputation. We were lax in monitoring the growing perception of him as a bully, while simultaneously, he was on the receiving end of bullying all day, every day. His reputation as a bully spread beyond the school walls and playground boundaries, leaking into our neighborhood, speeding through wires and wireless, the talk of the bus stops. His size, his odd behaviors, his loud and unexpected non-sequiturs, and his violations of personal space drove the rumors on. When we learned all of this, we were devastated. Then, we heard about the Circle of Friends (COF) program. The basic principle of this program is that placing knowledge in the hands of others also means giving them understanding and compassion. For us, that meant that somehow, we had to get across to our son’s classmates,…

Disability

Lessons from Season 10

June 6, 2011January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

Joan T. Hocky Expectation: The act or state of looking forward or anticipating Surprise: To strike or occur to with a sudden feeling of wonder or astonishment Two stories: 1. A girl grows up in Port Arthur, Texas. On the surface, she has a nice, middle class life: dad is an engineer, mom is a registrar at the local college and she has two protective older sisters. But life is anything but easy. She’s overweight with acne and long stringy hair and the kids in school all tease her for being ugly and weird. She spends hours every night holed up in her room, listening to Bessie Smith sing the blues and imagining life as an artist or musician, somewhere far away from where she lives. She finishes high school, goes off to college (UT Austin, the flagship school), but things are no better—even in a big university town. Lonely…

Disability

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

April 6, 2011January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Squillo www.confutata.com It has become easy to forget that my kid is a little different. Because he’s our first child, his behavior at home has always seemed normal — always been our normal — since we had nothing to compare it to until his neurotypical sister came along almost three years ago. A few weekends back, we took the kids to the classic car show that’s held in our town center every year. We started going three years ago, when Squidboy developed a keen interest in old-fashioned cars. It’s really a combination street fair and car show, with music, food, and kids’ activities, as well as the parade of automotive awesomeness, and that first year we figured it was going to be a smash-hit with the kid. Managing expectations is a lesson most parents have to learn; those of us with autistic or other developmentally different kids learn it in…

Disability

Bullying and Special Needs: Walk a Mile in Their Shoes

February 15, 2011January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.thinkingautismguide.com www.squidalicious.com According to Tim Shriver, Chairman and CEO of the Special Olympics, FX is currently the only TV network that bans the word “retard.” Bullying of people with special needs remains entrenched, and insidious. According to AbilityPath.org, “Some reports estimate that nearly 85 percent of children with special needs experience bullying.” But it doesn’t need to stay that way. In partnership with the Special Olympics and Best Buddies, Abilitypath.org is launching a nationwide “Disable Bullying” campaign that will “engage a broad coalition of parents, educators, activists and policymakers to prevent and combat behavior that is widespread but has until now not been clearly documented.” Glee’s Lauren Potter and her mother Robin Sinkhorn are leading the call for action: AbilityPath has created Walk a Mile in Their Shoes, a toolkit-rich campaign report and guide [PDF]: AbilityPath.org is an online hub and special needs community for parents…

Disability

Imagine This

January 10, 2011March 8, 2023 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

L.C. Horn lastcrazyhorn.wordpress.com Let me set up a scenario for you. Imagine first that you’re a kid, maybe eleven or twelve, possibly thirteen. You have Asperger’s syndrome, which means that your social skills are impaired already; plus you’re a preteen/young teen, which means that the rules for your social world are constantly in flux. But as of yet, you’re not diagnosed; nor has anyone in your life ever heard the word “Asperger’s,” nor would they know what it means. As if that weren’t bad enough, you’re a girl who is more of a tomboy, who doesn’t see the point in following the social rules or norms, either because it seems like a waste of time, or you’re just mostly oblivious to their existence in the first place. Most kids don’t like you very much. You don’t know why. Vaguely, you understand that there is something about your being that offends…

Disability

The “R” Word Revisited

October 27, 2010January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Brian R. King, LCSW spectrummentor.com Recent headlines about the epidemic of bullying, unfortunately, point to school systems overall that appear either indifferent to bullying, referring to it in some cases as “a right of passage that children must endure as a means of building character” (one school administrator actually said this in an IEP meeting I attended), or they minimize it as a misunderstanding. Others exercise willful ignorance under the guise that “We didn’t see it”– as though the bully is supposed to say, “Teacher, looky here! I’m going to treat Johnny like crap now.” Give me a break! If a child bullies another student out of the view of a teacher, it’s still bullying and not an opportunity to evade responsibility because the bully is savvy enough to know when you aren’t looking. Let me be clear, bullying is not a simple problem of the playground tough guy establishing…